Why is failure matter of life and death for us, laments Kohli

Sarfraz says Pakistan has a good record against India in the tournament. So far, England and Australia have squared off four times in the Champions Trophy with England winning in 2004 and 2013 while Australia won in 2006 and 2009.

Hussey has said that the opposition teams can take the Kohli lightly during the tournament at their own peril. "But, as you build up every game and try and gain momentum into the tournament, you start becoming that hot favourite", he added.

In the statement released the ICC wrote, "We operate on advice from our Tournament Security Directorate - in conjunction with the European Central Bank and relevant authorities - to ensure that we have a robust safety and security plan for both tournaments". "The first challenge is to not think about the fact that we are defending the title".

India, the defending champions, will begin their campaign on June 4 when they take on arch-rivals Pakistan.

Apart from Kohli himself, the squad boasts of proven match-winners Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni with the latter stepping down from the captaincy earlier this year to prolong his career as a wicket-keeper batsman.

Team India will also be playing two warm-up matches against New Zealand (May 28) and Bangladesh (May 30) to acclimatise themselves to England conditions. "If you can think about the games in that manner, I think you will get the results you want more often than you want".

Both England and Australia will be amongst the top contenders to win the trophy coming into the tournament as both teams are well acquainted with playing in seaming conditions.

West Indies cricket legend Brian Lara on Friday said that England will go all the way and lift the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 on home soil. "We just play our brand of cricket". "Some people can not connect the two formats at all for some they connect bits and pieces and put them in place for all the three formats", said Kohli when asked IPL being preparation ground for Champions Trophy.

"It is really exciting for us to be starting our prep in this series against one of the best sides in the world, one so full of accomplished players and experienced players", said Morgan.

The two will meet again this summer after being drawn with Australia and Bangladesh in Group A - and Williamson is adamant his side will repeat the attacking brand of cricket it displayed when last on English soil.

"I think they're a very, very balanced side", he told a media conference.

Recalling the 2013 edition, Kohli believes the team has all the right ingredients to succeed in their title defence in a challenging format where they will face Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa in the group stage. We go in with that kind of mindset, and I think that goes a long way in a tournament like this.